“For the past decade, Duo al Dente has been communicating to audiences the atmosphere, elegance and vitality of early music. The duo has made its mark through innumerable concerts throughout Denmark as well as in Germany, Britain and Sweden. With its historical instruments and present-day enthusiasm, Duo al Dente succeeds in creating a mood of intimacy in concert venues of all sorts and sizes, and the duo's performances have on a number of occasions been broadcast on radio and television.

In addition to their activities in Duo al Dente, Kirsten Lund Jensen and Per Weile Bak are members of the Renaissance trio Stella Nova and the Baroque ensemble Løvendahls Galej.

Duo al Dente has won several prizes, including the audience's award at the chamber music competition 8. Alte Musik-Treff in Berlin, 2003. The duo also won the audience's award in 2000 at the international Biagio Marini Competition for early music at Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.

Duo al Dente's first CD, A Taste for Baroque (DACOCD 484) came out in 1997, followed in 2000 by The Food of Love (DACOCD 547). Both CD's have been released by the recording company Danacord.”

“Lene Langballe studied recorder at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Vicki Boeckman and graduated from The Civica Scoula in Milan (Italy) with Pedro Memelsdorff. She discovered the cornett and continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, studying recorder with Conrad Steinmann and cornetto with Bruce Dickey.

Lene has performed with numerous ensembles such as Concerto Copenhagen, Alta Punta, Musica Fiorita, ArsNova among others, and appears on several recordings. In 2003 she founded ensemble Authentia, her own platform for music from the renaissance and baroque.

Lene teaches recorder and performance practice at the Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

Roberto Falcone studied violin at the Conservatory in Lugano (Switzerland) with Carlo Chiarappa and specialized in baroque violin at the Civica Scoula in Milan with Enrico Gatti.

Roberto has collaborated with several ensembles of early music such as Sonatori della Giosa Marca, Academia, La Fenice, and others, and appears on many recordings with well known labels like Erato, Sony, EMI.

In 2003 he created ensemble Authentia, his own platform for early music and has performed many concerts.

Roberto teaches violin at the music school in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark and has taught several masterclasses.”

"The Krauka group takes you on a musical journey back in time to an era when the Norse culture blossomed over the North Atlantic region, the time when the Vikings were setting out on perilous sea voyages from Scandinavia across the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland to Vinland (New Foundland).

Krauka was formed in 1999 around the idea of combining storytelling and music from the Viking Age. First they did research on what kind of instruments existed in the north of Europe during the Viking Age. From this information they built their own instruments, but using modern strings that made the music more powerful.

From the beginning Krauka was a band inspired by the Viking-age instruments and sagas, playing acoustically for about 100 persons. Later they have taken part in big festivals, for instance: in 2000 at a festival in Greenland, celebrating the 1000th year of Leif the Lucky's finding Vinland; and in 2001 at a Viking festival on the Faroe Islands. The same year they had their first school concert tour in Denmark and played in different Viking festivals in DK. In 2002 they played at a festival at Fjorukrain, outside Reykjavik in Iceland and at different locations in Iceland. This year they have also made two school-concert tours.

“Poul Høxbro is a true pioneer in the field of music. He has been called ”the great man of small instruments” and it is true that he is quite unique in the way he has taken the medieval instrument of pipe and tabor – played simultaneously by one person – out of the shadows and into the full glare of concert platforms all over the world.

He has performed in intimate chamber music settings, as a soloist in a contemporary Danish opera at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen, on traditional music stages, at medieval markets, and as a theatre musician. Poul Høxbro has amazed and delighted audiences with his virtuosity and lively musicality, crossing the borders of what might be expected from his ”small” instruments – instruments which, apart from pipe and tabor, include all types of historical percussion and traditional flutes. …”

The hymns were collected in Sweden, Estonia and the Ukraine. Many of the ballads were preserved without melodies and Ulv has shaped new ones from medieval motives and other existing folk tunes.

The Swedish medieval ballads have roots in both Icelandic mythology and the European ballad tradition. Many ballad texts have been documented without melodies and Ulv has shaped new melodies from medieval motives and other existing Swedish folk tunes that fit the surviving texts.

The Swedish folk hymns were sung both in church and at home. Some organists held the final tone of the hymn phrases so the singers could finish their own ornamented versions. At home, the hymns could be sung and ornamented without additional harmonies.”

“VIA ARTIS KONSORT is an international ensemble with musical focus aimed at the undiscovered treasures from the late Medieval to early Classic period.

Via Artis Konsort explores the form and substance of the early music with a special emphasis on timeless concepts such as sonority, improvisation and pulse.

The ensemble is formed by skilled musicians from Scandinavia, Spain and Poland. The ensemble leans primarily on its own investigation. which centers on the ancient skills of improvisation and embellishment.

The ensemble was founded in 2004 and has offered more than 200 concerts since then. “

"RONDELLUS was formed by Maria and Robert Staak in 1993 to perform and promote medieval and renaissance music. Depending on the specific programme, the ensemble varies between two and six singers and instrumentalists, who perform on replicas of period instruments. All members of the group are professional musicians with years of experience in Estonia's finest early music groups.

“Accademia del Piacere was founded in 2004. His organicum varies from the trio to the small chamber orchestra. Accademia del Piacere is presented as one of the young Andalusian groups with more presence on the international scene of early music. Its members, who combine the strength of youth and the wisdom of experience, have performed at festivals and theatres worldwide. Accademia del Piacere has performed at prestigious events such as the National Auditorium of Spain, Luxembourg Grand Theater, Festival of Ravello (Italy), FEMAS (Sevilla), Festival Las Piedras Cantan, Radovlijka Festival (Slovenia), Early Music Festival of Peñíscola, Early Music Festival Aracena, Cantatas Cycle of Johann Sebastian Bach (Madrid), Festival Camino de Santiago, Early Music Festival in Malaga, Spanish Music Festival in Cadiz, Early Music Festival of Úbeda and Baeza, Cultural Almeria 2006, Teatro Villamarta ... Their concerts are usually transmitted by the most prestigious media such as Radio Clásica, of RNE”

"The “Armoniosi Concerti” ensemble takes its name from the guitar book “Armoniosi concerti sopra la guitarra spagnuola” by Domenico Pellegrini, published in Bolonia in 1650. It emerges as a result of the same titled recording of its director, Juan Carlos Rivera, featuring Italian music from the 17th century for guitar and theorbo, in which he gets accompanied by another theorbo and another guitar in several pieces. The record obtained, among other distinctions, the *****Goldberg.
The group is receiving a very good response from the public, for the lively and entertaining way that their programmes are put together. ...

“The members of Artefactum are experienced performers with musical careers which are as rich and complex as their experience of life itself, and it is this which is fundamental tounderstanding the pieces they create. It is impossible to transmit feelings which have not been actually experienced; emotions cannot be learnt from a musical score. The medieval era is perhaps the historical period which most personified the contrast between monastic simplicity and the picaresque flavour of life in the taverns, between the comforts of the royal courts and the penuries of the pilgrims’ route to Santiago. Although it may seem hard to believe, all these elements and many more are present in Artefactum ...

"If we consider that the revival of early music is a type of repossession and liberation, then the Capella de Ministrers ensemble has enlarged the boundaries of freedom by providing a comprehensive approach to several medieval, Renaissance and baroque works. The lyrics of these compositions offer a limited view of this literature, which can only be completed by listening to its musical accompaniment. Thus, this music becomes a bridge allowing present-day men and women to escape from the 21st century and join those who listened to and lived this music a few centuries ago.

Ever since its foundation in 1987, the Capella de Ministrers ensemble, directed by Carles Magraner, has developed an important investigative and musicological task in favor of the musical Spanish patrimony, from the medieval times up to the 19th century. The result transformed into musical testimony, brings together the perfection of three key factors: the historical rigor, the musical and, sensibility specially, an uncontrollable desire to communicate and they make us participants of these experiences. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

The sweet and yet intense sonority of two “vihuelas” is the main ground of an ensemble that performs early repertoires from a subtle and intimate perspective. El Canto del Caballero presents its performances as a musical and poetical space, unveiling the many nuances and timbric possibilities offered by two early plucked instruments and a voice.

In Europe during the XVI century, transcriptions of vocal polyphonic masterpieces were an important repertoire source for instruments such as the vihuela and the lute. In the Iberian Peninsula, vihuela players adapted pieces by the most notable composers of the time to their instrument. The intimate knowledge of such music encouraged a new way of approaching the repertoire; intimate feeling, subtlety and introspection were the main expressive and dynamic assets employed by the old vihuelists.

In that same spirit, El Canto del Caballero uses their own, as well as original transcriptions to devise their concert programmes.“

The artistic project of El Cortesano was born in Basle, Switzerland, in 1998, thanks to the fortunate meeting of two young musicians both passionately dedicated to renaissance music. Although both studied at the Schola Cantorum Basilensis, José Hernández and Ariel Abramovich have different musical backgrounds and life experience, which enables them to put forward both diverse and complementary visions.

Inspired perhaps by their youthful enthusiasm, the duo have rejected rigid and universalist visions of this music. In order to compensate for this departure from conventionalism, they have found it necessary to search for new answers by the in-depth study of a careful selection of the period's incredibly rich poetic and musical output. In this investigation, the members of El Cortesano have turned directly to the original sources, without the mediation of modern editors.

Guided by the conviction that, as Castiglione put it in the work the group takes its name from, declamation can make wonders out of words, the duo embarked upon the adventure of experimenting with ways of bringing the music closer to the text. Thus they began a profound
investigation, which throughout the years has been the key to defining a committed and rigorous artistic conception, widely acknowledged today. From this perspective, it is only direct communication with the audience -and the ephemeral spell this creates- that justifies the performance.

In such diverse situations and places as The Semana de la Música Antigua de Estella
and the Festival Are More in Vigo among others, performances in renowned concert halls such as the Palau de la Música de Valencia and the Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo, and presentations all over Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Morocco, Ecuador and Argentina, El Cortesano has been able
to generate the same phenomenon; that of enabling the audience to participate in a singular artistic experience, inviting them to introspection and the encounter with the sensuality of this type of art.

The group’s recording career began in 2002 with El Parnasso, recorded by the French label Arcana, following an intense period of research into Castillian vihuelist's Estevan Daça's work (Valladolid, 1576), never previously recorded. This record was well received by critics and public, helping strengthen the duo’s identity and giving them the confidence to envisage future projects with enthusiasm. Among these we have, in the 2006 agenda, performances in Canada, the USA, Brazil,
Argentina and Chile, and the recording of an original and innovative second album. "

“Formed in 2007, the Ensemble Méridien borns in Barcelona with the purpose of performing music from the XVII and XVIII centuries using contemporary tools from the XX century to bring early music closer.
The Ensemble Méridien consisted of young instumentalists with ample national and international orchestral experience and chamber music experience. After their studies in Spain, they increased their training in early music and improvisation as far as Belgium, Holland, France, Germany and Italy. Members of this ensemble also plays with groups
such as Orquestra Barroca Catalana, Forma Antiqva, Le Concert des Nations, The Rare Fruits Council, Café Zimmermann, Capella Mediterranea and other groups in early music.
They have received group lessons with professionals on early music such as: Eric Höbart, Lorenzo Coppola, Pablo Valetti and Manfredo Kraemer.
During its brief life, the Ensemble Méridien has played in several festivals and concert halls such as: “Setmana de Música Antiga” in Mataró, Auditori de la Mercè in Girona, Basílica de Montserrat, Fontana d’'Or and “Festival de música sacra” in Tenerife.
Recently it has been selected as a resident group in the Ambronay’s Festival 2011 and in the Antiqva's Festival Barcelona and the Utrecht's Fabulous Fringe .”

"Centered on brothers Aaron, Pablo and Daniel Zapico, the ensemble Forma Antiqva is a point of reference within the field of early music in Spain. With the collaboration (depending on the programme) of young, prestigious soloists, the ensemble is regularly invited to the most important festivals, where the public and expert critics alike unanimously applaud their daring, virtuoso and lucid performances. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

“United by a common goal – the study and interpretation of ancient music according to new, modern criteria – and fascinated by the immense richness of the Hispanic and European musical repertoire before 1800, in 1974 Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith founded the ensemble Hespèrion XX. In its thirty years of existence, the group has, in collaboration with other outstanding performers, rescued numerous works and programmes from oblivion, thus contributing to a major reappraisal of the fundamental aspects of the Mediaeval, Renaissance and baroque repertoires. From the moment it was created, Hespèrion XX has carried out an intense schedule of concert performances and regularly appears at the main international music festivals. …”

“Convinced that a country’s cultural roots and traditions always have a decisive influence on the expression of its musical language, in 1987 Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras founded La Capella Reial, one of the first vocal ensembles devoted to the interpretation of Hispanic Golden Age music according to historical principles and consisting exclusively of Hispanic and Latin voices.

Following the model of the famous “royal chapels” for which the great masterpieces of both religious and secular music were composed in the Iberian peninsula, this new “Capella Reial”, which in 1990 took the name of Capella Reial de Catalunya, was born as the result of more than 13 years of research and interpretation in the field of early music. Together with Hespèrion XX (founded in 1974), its main objective is to extend and deepen the fields of research into the specific characteristics of the Hispanic and European polyphonic vocal legacy before 1800. The hallmark of this ensemble is its approach to performance, which balances meticulous vocal sound quality and appropriateness to the style of the period with expressive diction and projection of the poetic text, always striving above all to convey the spiritual and artistic dimension peculiar to each individual work. Under the direction of Jordi Savall, it has an intense schedule of concert performances and recordings and regularly takes part in the principal music festivals around the world. …”

“La Ritirata performs in prestigious festivals as Musika‐Música in the Palacio Euskalduna of Bilbao, Festival de Música Antigua 2009 of CNART in Mexico City, Fringe Early Music Festival Utrecht and Internacional Music Festival of Jaca among others. Recently awarded in the renowned Sitges music competition, La Ritirata looks forward to new projects of wider scope. In the words of a recently published press review on Diario de Menorca while their Balearic Islands Tour, “the mastery of its instrumentalists delighted the audience with exquisite sonority, great agility, example of technical control and perfection of the German baroque music” [Arcadio Gomila]

The objective of the group is to combine the accurate historical awareness with the highest levels of artistic quality, together with a surprising musicality and astonishing performances. All this under the vision of their artistic leader, Josetxu Obregón, who while visiting the stages of Miami, Tokio and Mexico DF in the next couple of months, a musician who focused on Early Music after playing in some of the best ensembles of the world like Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, has the purpose of showing the world how the interpretation, together with the knowledge of the instruments and aesthetics of a composer’s time, is without any doubt the key to the musical future of our society.”

“Taking its name from a prevalent theme of the age of Louis XIV, Le Tendre Amour is based in Barcelona, though its members are originally from many corners of the world. Since their beginning, the emphasis has been in creating unusual programs, always with the aim of pleasing audiences of all ages.

The ensemble, directed and organized by Katy Elkin and Esteban Mazer, has performed in top early music festivals in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Spain. In 2008 Le Tendre Amour was awarded the prize for best interpretation at the Varazdin Baroque Evenings festival (Croatia) for their program of Jewish baroque music.

Over the past few years, their artistic interest has turned towards the field of chamber opera, although they continue performing various repertoires in their original format of seven musicians. (See our “Programs” page for details). Le Tendre Amour has recorded a CD of sacred French cantatas for the label K617 (France) called Le Passage de la Mer Rouge. Their next release is a CD of English music called “All in a Garden Green” for the label Brillant Classics (Holland), available March 2012.“